1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a means for determining the degradation of lubricating ability of an oil by detecting the change in viscosity of the oil.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has long been a need to determine the degradation in the lubricating properties of an oil so that the oil may be changed before the lubricating properties deteriorate to an unacceptable degree. In the past, oil has been changed at regular mileage intervals, so that the lubricating properties may be kept at an acceptable quality. Changes in operating conditions, however, can cause a great difference in the quality of the lubrication ability of oils operated under different conditions.
One known measuring technique is to extract a sample of the oil, and test it in a comercially available viscometer. This process has problems however, due to the fact that the oil must be removed from the vehicle, and tested in an expensive apparatus which is not easily movable.
There exist prior art oil viscometers which test the oil viscosity using a built in capillary-orifice combination viscometer which tests the viscosity of the oil without removing the oil from its environment. However, these viscometers do not compensate for the variations in viscosity due to temperature, and therefore, they are not as accurate as the viscometer of the present invention.